Harford County Public Schools Change Dec. 15 Schedule

BEL AIR, MD — Harford County Public Schools will delay the start of classes by two hours on Thursday, Dec. 15, because of predicted freezing rain.

Any further changes will be announced by 6:30 a.m.

The alert from the school system says:

"Due to forecasted weather conditions, Harford County Public Schools, including Swan Creek School, and offices will open 2 hours late, Thursday, December 15, 2022. No morning Pre-K or before school childcare.

Essential personnel should await further information from their supervisor.

Any necessary re-evaluation will be made by 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 15, 2022."

Freezing rain and possible slick roads are in the weather forecast, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a winter weather advisory until 1 p.m. Thursday for the region. State officials are asking residents to stay home if travel becomes risky, and drivers should monitor for poor driving conditions for Thursday morning's commute.

Forecasters expect freezing rain accumulation ranging from a glaze to one-tenth inch. Most of the freezing rain should fall between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. Thursday.

In Maryland, the advisory applies to all or parts of Baltimore, Cecil, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Howard and Harford counties. The District of Columbia and several Northern Virginia counties are also under the advisory.

Freezing rain with total ice accumulations of a glaze to around one-tenth of an inch are expected. The highest ice amounts will be in the northern and western suburbs of Washington and Baltimore, the weather service said.

Inclement Weather Policy

All public schools in Harford County will be closed on days when roads, school parking lots and/or school driveways/walkways are considered unsafe for school bus transportation or student/staff use. The decision to close is made by the superintendent of schools as early as possible. If a closure or delay is necessary on the day of an inclement weather event, efforts will be made to distribute that information by 5:00 a.m. The determination is made after consulting with the state police, the HCPS transportation office, the sheriff’s office, the state and county highway departments and other sources of information in different parts of the county.

Some weather conditions make it advisable to delay the opening time of schools. In such situations, the delayed prekindergarten plan will be in effect for half day programs

• If schools are delayed one hour, morning half-day prekindergarten will start at 10:00 a.m.: afternoon half-day prekindergarten will proceed as originally scheduled; and fourth tier schools will begin at 10:30 a.m. Full day kindergarten programs will follow the school system schedule.
• If schools are delayed two hours, there will be no morning half-day prekindergarten or early intervention programs; afternoon half-day prekindergarten will proceed as originally scheduled; and fourth tier schools will begin at 11:30 a.m. Full day prekindergarten programs will follow the school system schedule.
• If schools have a scheduled teachers’ planning/early dismissal and there is a two-hour delay, students will NOT be dismissed early but remain in school for the regular school day.

Any change from the normal school schedule as a result of inclement weather will be communicated through our rapid telephone notification system, email, text message, Facebook, Twitter and provided to radio and television stations for broadcast. In addition, changes to the normal schedule will be listed on the HCPS website at www.hcps.org. Please note, we cannot control when the media posts inclement weather updates.

Parents/guardians always have the right to not send their children to school if they feel travel conditions are unsafe. The student will be marked as lawfully absent.

Announcements will only be made when there is an unscheduled change to the schools operating schedule. No telephone calls or media announcements will be made when schools are operating on a normal schedule. In order to keep school telephone lines open for emergency calls, parents/guardians are urged not to call the school concerning closings or delays. This information will be reported as soon as possible using the communication vehicles listed above.